Faith is Logic’s Foe

Sam Brownback, one of the Republican presidential hopefuls who doesn’t “believe in evolution,” clarifies his position in this NYT editorial. His key points commit the logical fallacy of begging the question:

The truths of science and faith are complementary: they deal with very different questions, but they do not contradict each other because the spiritual order and the material order were created by the same God.

The unique and special place of each and every person in creation is a fundamental truth that must be safeguarded.

Man was not an accident and reflects an image and likeness unique in the created order.

These three key points demonstrate the foolishness of faith: faith allows you to assume what you want and then allows you to prohibit others from questioning your assumptions.

I reject that kind of faith: It is anthropocentric, logically indefensible, arrogant, and lazy.

I reject that kind of faith: It allows you to argue what you want, when you want, without evidence.

An intelligent God is a rational God, one who bestowed the gift of rationality on us:

People of faith should be rational, using the gift of reason that God has given us.

P: Man is not an accident and reflects an image and likeness unique in the created order.

Q: Man is an accidental product of evolution and is but one species among billions.

On the other hand, one could argue that because God is omnipotent, he can be both rational and illogical: You can have your P, and your Q, and both can be true. After all, being omnipotent, God could use evolution to create whatever he wants.